The Outsiders: Kitty's Tale
by Aliki R
Summary: What would have happened if Ponyboy, Sodapop, and Darry had a sister? What would change? Takes place during the original story's timeline.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: The Morning Before

 **New story guys! It's a prequel to Twisted Times, which I will complete after this story.**

" I'm not gonna wake her up. Kitty's a monster in the mornings."

My eyes fly open. I look up to see my brothers, Ponyboy and Sodapop, standing in the doorway. Soda is my twin, while Ponyboy is two years my junior. And both of them know that waking me up this early in the morning is a death sentence.

"Oh shit, she's awake!" Ponyboy says, running down the hallway. Sodapop follows him suit, as I get out of bed.

"Boy's, did you wake Kittalayn up? My eldest brother Darryl says from his room. Last year, my parent's died in a car crash, and the state decided to let Darry keep us, since he had just turned nineteen, and Sodapop and I were almost sixteen, and Pony was thirteen.

" I'm scared of Kitty in the mornings." Ponyboy says from down the hall.

"You act like she's going to kill you." says Darry, popping his head into my room. " Kitty, you awake?" He asks me.

"I am now." I mutter, sitting up. Somebody has drawn back my curtains, so I'm bombarded with a bright ray of sunlight.

"Well good, because you have school." says Darry as he walks toward the kitchen.

I roll out of bed, and glance in the mirror. My waist-length golden-blonde hair is all over the place, and sticking to my face. I'm wearing an old pair of Pony's boxers, and a tank top.

"Kitty, breakfast is ready!" Darry calls from the kitchen. I leave my room, and make my way there as well.

"Good morning, Sunshine!" Two-Bit Matthews says when I enter the living room. Two-Bit is a member of our gang. He has rusty colored hair, with long sideburns. He got his nickname from always wanting to put his "two-bits" in. I don't think anybody remembers his real name is Keith. Not even the teachers. As well, for some odd reason, he likes school. He tells me he just goes for kicks, and I can attest to that because he's been held back twice. Not just anyone can be a junior at eighteen years old.

Two-Bit is known for two things in our neighborhood: Shoplifting, and his black-handled switchblade, which he couldn't have acquired without the first talent. He likes blondes and fights, and messing around with everybody. You can never shut the guy up!

" Bite me." I mutter, making my way to the kitchen.

"Aww, Kitty Cat, you wound me." Two-Bit laughs. He's drinking a beer, and eating chocolate cake. Breakfast of champions.

"It's too early for this." I say, sitting down at the table. Ponyboy has put together a plate for me, something he does every morning. I don't know why he does it, but I'm not about to complain. On it is fried eggs, bacon, and chocolate cake. There's always chocolate cake available for us. When my parents were alive, they would have never allowed chocolate cake with breakfast. But all of us have a sweet tooth for chocolate, Darry especially, so cake is always at the table.

"Darry, I'm not going to school!" I announce, digging into my food.

"And why is that, Little Miss?" He asks, poking his head into the kitchen.

"I don't wanna." I reply matter-of-factly, stuffing my face.

"If Kitty isn't going, I'm not going!" Ponyboy calls from his room.

"You're going Pony!" Darry calls, fully entering the kitchen. "Kitty do you have a real reason for not wanting to go?" He asks me.

"I just don't feel it today, Darry. I'm begging, please." I watch him as he thinks it over.

"Fine Kitty. Just make up an excuse so I don't have to deal with Ponyboy's whining." Darry says, winking.

"Thank you Darry." I whisper, stuffing my face with food, and returning his wink.

"Ponyboy, you're going to be late!" Darry calls over his shoulder. He then turns around, and leaves the kitchen. "Are you walking today, or is Two-Bit driving you?

"I'll drive the kid." Two-Bit says from the living room. Taking my last bite, I get up from the table, and place them in the sink. It's Sodapop's turn to do them.

"I'm coming!" Pony shouts, running into the living room. I enter as well, and plop my butt down on the couch. "Kitty, are you not going to school?" Two-Bit asks.

"Nope." I say, stealing Two-Bit's beer. I'm not gonna drink it, but he shouldn't be drinking it this early in the morning.

"How come I gotta go to school, and you don't?" He huffs, pulling on his converse. Two-Bit makes a swipe for his beer, but I hold it out of his reach.

"Maybe when you become a girl, and get a period, you can skip school." I say, getting up.

"Kitty, whatya doing with my beer?" Two-Bit complains. I dump the remaining contents into the kitchen sink, and toss the bottle in the garbage.

"It's too early to drink." I say, walking back over to the couch, and sitting again.

"C'mon Ponyboy, we're gonna be late." Two-Bit says, getting up. "By Kitty." He walks out the door.

"Kitty, you want me to pick up your homework?" Pony asks. He's a sophomore, and I'm a senior. We've both skipped grades, me forth, him ninth.

"Thank you Pony." I say.

"Bye Darry, bye Soda!" Ponyboy calls, making his way to the door. "Bye Kitty." He says, slamming the door behind him.

"Sodapop, come on, we got to go!" Darry yells, running into the living room. His shirt is undone, and he's hastily putting on shoes. Once they're on, he buttons his shirt, and tucks it into his pants.

He has to drop Sodapop off at work because they both share one car. Darry works for a company roofing houses, and Sodapop works at the DX gas station in town. Soda dropped out of high school the middle of this year to help Darry pay the bills and stuff. He claims he's happy working at a gas station, but I don't believe him. Darry gave up a football scholarship to support Pony, Soda and me. Sometimes I wonder if Darry regrets it, but I always shake that feeling. He just sucks at showing emotion sometimes.

" I'm coming!" Yells Sodapop, running into the room. His shirt is too, undone, and his pants unbuckled.

"Okay, Kitty, me and Sodapop are headed out. Ponyboy will be back here around 2:30, and we'll be back around 5. Please don't kill yourself while you're alone." Darry says, walking out the door.

"I won't!" I say as he exits. "I love you guys!"

"Love you too!" Darry calls back. Soda runs out after him, his shoes in his hands.

With both the boys gone, I lean back on the couch, and relax. Time to enjoy this day to myself.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Story Begins.

"Kitty, I'm home!" Ponyboy yells upon entering the house. I spent my day vacuuming the floors, dusting, and cleaning the bathroom, kitchen, and all the bedrooms. I figured if I was going to stay home, I might as well help out.

"I'm in my room!" I call out to him. I had finally gotten around to getting dressed. I had put on my white pedal-pusher pants, and my lilac cotton button-up shirt.

"Hey, Kitty." Ponyboy says, entering my room. I had been standing in front of my mirror, debating on cutting my hair.

"Hey, Pony." I say, flopping down on my bed. He walks over to my desk, and places some books and papers on it.

"I brought your homework for you." he says, turning to leave. He's at the door, when he turns to me. "You wanna go see the new Paul Newman movie with me." He asks.

Glancing at my mountain of homework, I shake my head. "Sorry Pony, but I have to do this homework. Maybe next time." He smiles.

"It's okay Kitty. I'll go by myself." He says, leaving my room.

"Be safe, and watch out for Socs!" I yell after him. Socs, or Socials, are the higher-ups in society. My family and friends are referred to as Greasers, supposedly because of the amount of hair oil we use in our hair.

Socs are the social elite. They drive mustangs, wear madras shirts, and altogether have better home lives. Most Greasers are also dubbed the title of hood. They steal things, hold up gas stations, fight in gang fights- Not that my brothers and I do those kinds of things. We try and stay out of trouble.

I'm halfway through my last page of math homework when Darry and Sodapop get home. Soda barely mumbles a hello before making a beeline for the shower. The weather was in the nineties today, so I don't blame him.

"Kitty, where's Ponyboy?" Darry asks, leaning against my doorframe.

"He went to the movies." I say, closing my math textbook.

"Without nobody else?"

"Yeah. He asked me, but I had homework." I mumble, opening my english textbook.

"He never uses his head." Darry mutters, walking down the hallway. He's probably gonna go start dinner.

"Oh Kitty!" Sodapop yells, bounding into my room as I finish my homework.

"Yes, Soda?" I say, standing up to streatch.

"Come outside with me, I wanna talk to ya!" He says, dragging me out of my room.

"Why do we gotta go outside?" I ask Soda as he drags me out onto the front porch. I'm lucky I was at least able to put shoes on before he did.

"It's a gorgeous day." He says, pulling out a cigarette. Everybody is our friend group smokes, except Darry. Pony is the worst of all, smoking entire packs in one day.

I take out another cigarette and light it up. Although I don't smoke often, sometimes it's nice to let off some steam. "And?"

"And I know you've been in the house all day." He replies. I nudge him, and we laugh. Anybody can tell that Soda and I are twins. Are eyes are the same shade of dark brown, and our hair has the same golden-blonde tones. Our only major physical difference is while Sodapop stands at 5ft 11in, I'm only 5ft. And you know, the fact he's a boy.

All of a sudden, we hear shouts for Darry and Soda, followed by disgruntled shouts. Darry rushes out.

"That sounded like Ponyboy!" He yells, taking off down the street. Two-Bit and Steve Randle, another member of our gang, and Sodapop's best friend, are just approaching our house as he does.

I quickly ash my cigarette, and take off after him. Soda, and the other two, are right behind me.

A few blocks down, a group of Socs are on top of someone on the ground. It only takes me a second to realize the person they're smothering is Ponyboy. When the Socs see the gang, they spring up and make a run for it. I run right over to him as the boys chase after the Socs.

"Pony." I say, dropping to my knees. He's got a good sized bruise on his cheek, and who knows what other injuries. .

"Kitty" he whimpers as I pull him into my arms. He may try and act tough, but he's still my baby brother.

Darry runs over, concern in his eyes. He squats down next to us, and pulls Ponyboy to his feet, slightly shaking him.

"Are you alright, Ponyboy?" says Darry as he continues to shake him.

"I'm okay. Quit shaking me, Darry, I'm okay." Ponyboy mutters. Darry lets go of him, and shoves his hands into his pockets.

"I'm sorry."

I don't think Ponyboy realizes how much Darry cares about him. He always complains about it to Sodapop and me.

Darry is 6ft 2in, and looks exactly like dad did before he died. His hair is a dark brown, and cowlicks at the ends, and his eyes are a pale blue-green. I love him to death, and wish he didn't have to work so hard at twenty."

"They didn't hurt you too bad, did they?" Darry asks Pony.

Ponyboy is shaking, and I can tell all he wants to do is curl up into a ball and cry. But all he does is sit down once more, and rub is bruising cheek.

"I'm okay." Ponyboy replies. I then see Sodapop come running back. He and the gang had pushed the Socs pretty far back until they drove off. Once he gets to us he plops down next to Pony and me, and starts to examine his head.

"You got a little cut up, huh, Ponyboy." I give Pony a once over. On the right side of his head he's got a decent size cut.

Ponyboy stares blankly at Soda. "I do?"

Sodapop pulls out a handkerchief, wets the end with his tongue, and presses it to his head. Soda always baby's him.

"You're bleeding like a stuck pig!" I say turning his head.

"I am?" He questions once more.

Sodapop shoes hima the blood. "Look!"

"Did they pull a blade on you?" I ask him. Ponyboy starts to tear up a little as he remembers.

"Yeah."

Sodapop looks at Ponyboy a little closer, and Pony starts crying harder, shaking a whole lot. Soda places a hand on Pony's shoulder, and says, "Easy, Ponyboy. They ain't gonna hurt you no more."

"I know." Pony says as he wipes harshly at his face. He hates crying in front of people. "I'm just a little spooked, that's all." He draws back a shaky breath, and stops crying altogether. Yep. He's trying to be tough.

Soda grin and rubs Pony's hair. "You're an okay kid, Pony!"

Ponyboy finally grins, a sign that he's doing better. "You're crazy Soda, out of your mind."

Darry rolls his eyes, and gives the boys a look. "You're both nuts."

Soda just cocks an eyebrow, a trick he must have picked up from Two-Bit, and says, "It seems to run in the family."

That's when I smack him. "Sodapop, the boys in this family may be crazy, but I for one thing am not!" I huff, rolling my eyes. Darry cracks a grin. He's usually amused by Soda and mine's bickering.

The rest of the gang comes running back. Four lean, hard guys that have been friends with my family since we were kids. All of them consider me their sister, and the older ones like to mess around with me. They're tough as nails, and look it too.

Steve Randle, Soda's best buddy, is seventeen years old. He likes to style his hair in complicated swirls. He's tacky, and smart. His specialty is cars. He knows cars inside out and backwards, and can drive anything with wheels. He works at the same DX Sodapop does, but only half time. And he gets great enjoyment out of teasing me, and pushing my buttons.

Dallas Winston has to be the truest character of the group, and probably the only real hood of us all. He has an elvish face, with high cheekbones, and white-blonde hair. His eyes are an icy blue, and are cold with the hatred of the world. Dally spent three years in New York, and had been arrested at the ripe age of ten. He was tougher than the other boys, colder, meaner. He's so wild people confuse them with Tim Shepard's gang.

In New York, Dallas, or Dally, blew off steam by participating in gang fights, but here, organized gangs are super rare. They're usually just bunches of friends who band together, and the warfare is between social classes. A rumble, when it's called, is usually born of a grudge match, and opponents usually bring friends along. But, although there are some organized gangs, there is no gang rivalry. So poor Dally has nothing to hate, only Socs. And you can't really win against Socs, no matter how hard you try, because they've got all the breaks, and beating them up won't change a thing. Maybe that's why he's such a bitter person.

But his reputation! They have a gigantic file on him at the police station. He's been arrested, he gets drunk, he rides in rodeos, he lies, cheats, jumps small kids, he does everything. You didn't have to like him, but you sure as hell have to respect him.

Last is Johnny Cade. If you picture a puppy that's been kicked too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers you'll have Johnny. He's younger than I am, but older than Ponyboy. He's definitely the smallest boy of the group. He has big black eyes, and very dark, tanned skin. His hair is jet black, that is heavily greased and combed to the side, but his hair is so long that it falls in shaggy bangs on his forehead. A few months back, some Socs beat him up really bad, and his own father beats him regularly. His mom ignores him, unless she's pissed about something, because then she practically screams at him. He would have run away by now if it wasn't for the gang. If it hadn't been for us, I don't think Johnny would have ever learned what love and affection is.

I watch Ponyboy wipe his eyes hastily. "Did you catch them?" He asks the group.

"Nup, they got away this time, the dirty-" Two-Bit, who had gone after the group as well, goes on to call the Socs every dirty name he could think of.

"The kid okay?" Dally asks

"I'm okay." Pony answers, staring at his feet.

"I didn't know you were out of the cooler, Dal." I say, changing the subject. Ponyboy catches my eye and mouths a thank you.

"Got off early, good behavior." He says, ruffling my hair, something he knows annoys me. As I flatten my hair, he lights a cigarette, and hands it to Johnny. Everyone then sits down to smoke. Smoking always lessens the tension. Slowly, I watch the color return to Ponyboy's face, and the trembling cease to exist. The cigarette has seemed to calm him down.

Two-Bit cocks an eyebrow, and nudges Ponyboy. "Nice-lookin' bruise you got there, kid."

Pony touches his cheek gingerly. "Really?"

Two-Bit nods sagely. "Nice cut, too. Makes you look tough."

Tough and tuff are two different complements in our neighborhood. Tough is an equivalent to rough, and tuff means sharp, or cool. A person who won a fight is tough. A mustang is tuff.

Steve flicks his ashes at Ponyboy. "What were you doing, walking home by your lonesome?" Steve picks on Ponyboy more than he picks on me.

"I was coming home from the movies, I didn't think-"

"You don't ever think." Darry says, cutting Pony off. "Not at home, or anywhere where it counts. You must think at school, with all the good grades you bring home, and you've always got your nose in a book, but do you ever use your head for common sense? No sirree, bub. And if you did have to go alone, you should have carried a blade."

Darry's always hard on Ponyboy, harder than he is on me or Soda. It's because Ponyboy is wicked smart, and get's frustrated when Pony doesn't use his smarts. I know Pony feels like he can never please Darry, but it's not true. Darry just wants what's best for him.

I wrap my arm around Pony and ruffle his hair with my other hand. "Leave my kid brother alone, you hear?"

Sodapop comes up on the other side of Ponyboy, and glares at Darry. "Kitty's right. It ain't his fault he likes to go to the movies, and it ain't his fault the Socs like to jump us. And, if he'd been carrying a blade it would have been a good excuse to cut him to ribbons."

Soda and I stick up for Pony when Darry gets a little too hard.

Darry shrugs, knowing he's not gonna win this argument. "When I want my kid brother and sister to tell me what to do with my other kid brother, I'll ask you," he faces Soda. "Kid brother."

Two-Bit swings around and walks backwards in front of us. "Next time get one of us to go with you, Ponyboy." he says. "Any of us will."

"Speakin' of movies," Dally says, flicking away his cigarette butt. "I'm walking over to the Nightly Double tomorrow night. Anybody want to come and hint some action?"

Steve shakes his head. "Me and Soda are picking up Evie and Sandy for the game." The then shoots Ponyboy an unwarranted look. Steve and Ponyboy just don't understand each other. I don't know why exactly, but I know it has something to do with Steve feeling threatened.

Darry sighs, like he always does. He never has time to do anything with us anymore. "I'm working tomorrow night."

Dally looks at the rest of us. "How about y'all? Two-Bit? Johnnycake, you and Pony wanta come?" He looks directly at me. "Kitty, what about you?"

"Me and Johnny'll come!" Ponyboy says, knowing Johnny wouldn't open his mouth unless he was forced too. "Okay, Darry?"

"Yeah, since it ain't a school night." Darry is pretty lenient on the weekends with Ponyboy. On school nights he hardly lets him out.

"I was planning on getting boozed tomorrow night." Two-Bit says. "If I don't, I'll walk over and find y'all."

"What about you, Kitty?" Dally asks me.

"I'll pass this time, Dal. I've got a ton of homework." I say, ashing my cigarette I was smoking. I glance at Dally's hand, noticing his ring, which he had rolled a drunk senior to get, was back on his finger. "You break up with Sylvia again?"

"Yeah, and this time for good. The little broad was two-timin' me while I was in jail."

There are two kinds of greaser girls. Girls like Sylvia, who wear too much makeup, acted tough, and swore too much. Then you get girls like me, who stay inside avoiding the world, and don't party. And I guess there are girls right in-between, like Sodapop's girlfriend Sandy. Her eyes are china blue, and her hair is a natural blonde, unlike a majority of greaser girls. It's not like she has an amazing homelife or anything, she's still our kind, Greaser. But she's not necessarily a bad person. Sometimes I wish I was like those other girls, Soc girls, girls who wear decent dresses, never pants like I do. Or if one of our kind get's arrested, do their girls bawl their eyes out like Evie did when Steve got hauled in? Or they run away like Sylvia did to Dallas? To tell you the truth, I don't know what I would do

"Rub harder Soda." I hear Darry mumbling. "You're gonna put me to sleep."

Darry's always pulling muscles at work. He tries to carry two bundles of roofing up the ladder at work. So, Sodapop will give him back massages, to help him out.

I lay down on my bed, and stare at the ceiling. I had shut the lights off with the intention of going to sleep, but now I'm wide awake.

"Kitty?" I look up at my door to see Sodapop standing in my doorway.

"Hey, Soda." I say, sitting up. He walks over to my bed, and throws himself down next to me. "Darry's asleep?"

"Mmhmm." He mumbles into my pillows. I lay back down, and he rolls onto his back. He's silent for a moment, until he says, "Sandy's pregnant."

I shoot straight up. "No shit?"

He sighs. "No shit."

I lay back down. "What are you gonna do?" I ask him.

"I dunno, Kitty." He says, getting up and out of the bed. "I'll see you in the morning." He walks to the door. "I love you, sis."

"Love you too." I say, rolling over. It's time to get some sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Curse of Bob Sheldon

The school bell rings, signaling the end of the day. I'm putting my books into my locker, when I smell something foul.

"Hey sweet thing, how about you and me take a ride?" says Bob Sheldon, a drunkard Soc. He's a man-slut, and goes after girls he thinks are easy, even though he's dating Cherry Valance, the head cheerleader.

"Don't you have a girlfriend you can harass?" I say, keeping my eyes trained on my books. I won't give him the satisfaction of seeing my eyes. "Plus you smell like a bar."

"What Cherry don't know won't hurt her." he says coming up behind me. He blocks me against my locker with his arms, each hand on either side of me.

I slam my locker shut, and face him. "Leave me alone, Bob." I cross my arms across my chest. "Besides, what do you want with a greasy girl like me?"

He chuckles crudely, and says, "Aww, babydoll, you should just fighting me." He leans in closer. "Just give in. It's not like any other well respected guy want's you." He reaches his hand behind me, and grabs my ass. His other hand he moves to my chest, and violently gropes my breasts.

I try to move his hands, but he towers over me, and has at least a hundred pounds on me. "Let me go." I whisper, panicking.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Steve yells from behind us. Bob lets go of me, and backs away, hands raised above his head.

"You'll take up my offer, Kittalayn." He whispers, walking away.

I slump against the lockers, and fall to the floor. I'm shakin' something

fierce.

"Kitty, are you okay?" Steve asks, crouching in front of me. He places his hands on my shoulders, and I jolt, remembering the closeness of Bob just a few minutes ago.

"Easy, he's gone." Steve says, offering me his hand. I take it, and he helps me up. "You should go talk to Sodapop."

"If I tell Soda he's gonna go and kill Bob." I say, walking past him toward the door. He's directly on my tail as he says, "Where are you going?"

"Home." I mutter, exiting the building. Steve runs in front of me, and cuts off my path.

"Kitty, you need to go talk to Sodapop. He needs to know. Darry needs to know too."

"Why?" I huff, throwing my hands up into the air. "I'm a big girl, I don't need to bother my brother's with my issues. Just drop it , Steve."

"You're in danger now, Kitty!" Steve yells, drawing the attention of a few Freshmen who were outside as well. "Bob knows you, and wants you. He's not the kinda guy who takes no for an answer. If you're not careful, he'll get what he wants." He grabs both my shoulders. "Even if it's not what you want."

I sigh. "I'll take my chances, Steve." I move his arms from my shoulders. "I'm not gonna live under guard twenty-four/seven. I'm tired of being afraid to walk home by myself."

Steve throws his arms up in the air. "What the hell, Kitty!?" he yells. "You gotta smarten up before you get raped by the side of the road!"

I feel the tears start before he even finishes his sentence. Because he's exactly right. I have to be afraid to walk home alone, for that very reason.

Greaser girls are in the highest percentage of the girls in our town who get raped, usually by Socs who never go to jail because the girls are too afraid to snitch. I am no different from those girls. And Bob Sheldon is not the kind of guy who takes no for an answer.

"Dammit, Kitty, I'm sorry." Steve says, rubbing his temples. "I just needed you to understand."

The tears are hot and fat, falling down my face in streams. I sink to my knees, and begin to sob, as the reality hits me: If Steve hadn't showed up, Bob would've raped me.

"Jesus Christ." Steve mumbles, brushing a stray hair out of his face. "I gotta find Soda." He leans down, and picks me up like I'm as light as a feather. "I'm taking you to Sodapop."

"What the hell did you do to her!?" Sodapop yells as we enter the DX. The tears haven't stopped, and I'm sobbing into Steve's shoulder.

"Shit happened man." Is all Steve says as he passes me off to Soda, who places me on the checkout counter.

"Kitty, what's goin' on?" Soda asks, brushing my hair out of my face. I'm unable to reply as I continue to cry.

"Bob Sheldon happened." Steve says, throwing on his DX shirt. "He would've had his way with her if I hadn't showed up."

I feel the counter shake as Soda punches down on it. "What did he do to you, Kitty?" Soda demands, grabbing my shoulders.

"H-he pinned m-me down against the lockers." I cry, taking a shaky breath. "And he touched me."

"He touched you?!" Soda yells, earning a look from several customers.

"Soda, buddy, you have every right to be furious as all hell," Steve begins, placing a hand on Soda's shoulder. "But you gotta calm down. It's not the time or place."  
Soda lifts me off the counter, and engulfs me in a hug. I lean into his chest, and instantly calm down. I'm safe, and Soda won't let anything happen to me. "Shh, Kitty, you're alright. I won't let anyone hurt you." He pauses for a moment. "None of us will."

"Hey, I'd like to check out here!" Soda let's me go, and I look at the counter. Leanne Terry, a girl known for her signature high ponytail, and for chewing inordinate amounts of gum, says, tapping her nails on the counter. Girls like Leanne are an exact representation of a Greaser girl. Today, she's wearing a red top that shows her stomach, a leather mini skirt, and a jean jacket. It's the exact opposite of what I'm wearing. This morning, I decided to wear one of my mother's old dresses. It's a soft, cotton, lilac button up, that cinches at my waist, and falls down to my knees.

"Sorry, Leanne." Soda says, walking over to the register. "You just gettin' that pack of gum?" He gestures to the pack in her hand. She buys one every day, so it's no surprise to Sodapop, but he still asks.

"Yeah, and a pack of Cools." She says, snapping her gum. She then gestures to me as Soda hands her her cigarettes. "Who's that broad you were so eagerly huggin'? You and Sandy finally call it quits?" another popped bubble.

"Leanne, Kittilayn's my sister. Me and Sandy are doin' just fine." He rings up her cigarettes and gum. "That's five dollars and ten cents."

"You should let me show you how a real woman does things." She says, leaning onto the counter.

"I'm with Sandy, Leanne." He says. "You need to pay."

Leanne throws her money on the counter, and grabs her stuff. "You'll come to me one day when that bitch leaves you, and I won't be available." She turns to leave, and then says, "You'll see." she walks out the door.

"Whore." I mutter, leaning against the counter. "How come all these girls try and get with you, Soda?" I ask him.

He shrugs his shoulders as he helps another customer. "I'm hot." he says, and he's not wrong. Sodapop's a looker. A lot of girls come to this DX because Soda works here. They all know he's taken, but it doesn't stop them from looking at him. Or hitting on him.

"Hey, Kitty." Startled, I jump at my name. Turning around, I see Dallas, leaning against the counter.

"Dallas Winston you hood!" I yell, hitting his arm. "You scared me to death!"

He shrugs his shoulders, and jams his thumbs in his jeans pocket. "Sorry."

Even though Dallas is the prime example of a hood, he's always had a soft spot for me Normally, if a girl hit him like I did, he would have said something awfully nasty to her. But me? He apologizes.

"What you doin' here anyways?" I ask him.

"Waitin' to go meet your brother and Johnnycake." He says. He makes a puzzled look, and then says, "Is it true? About Bob molestin' you?"

I feel my heart skip a beat. Hearing Dally say that word, molest, makes me remember the attack more vividly.

I feel my eyes start to water, and quickly try to blink back tears. "Yeah, it's true." I whisper, choking back a sob. You don't cry in front of Dallas Winston. You just don't.

"Jesus, Kittalayn, I'm sorry." He says, awkwardly patting my shoulder. "You want me to go and kill that crazy son-of-a-bitch?" He says, standing straight up. "I will."

I laugh a little, and wipe my eyes. "Don't do anythin' crazy, Dal. You just got out." I say.

"Nobody has the right to touch you like that. Especially some drunk Soc." He growls.

"Why do you care so much?" I inquire, staring him in the eyes. "You ain't my blood, and you sure as hell never act like you care 'bout nothin' but yourself." I cross my arms.

He sighs, and rests his hand on the counter. "To tell you the truth, Kitty, I don't know." He says, shrugging his shoulders. "I just don't wanna see you hurt. First it was Johnny, then Ponyboy, and now they're goin' after you? You ain't even done nothin'." His says, the volume of his voice raising as he get's more heated. "Those damn Socs think that they can do whatever they want, to whomever they want, and I'm sick of it! And there ain't nothing I can do about it. I swear, one of these days I'm gonna-"

"Dally!" I yell softly, grabbing both sides of his face gently. He just got out of jail, and I'm not trying to get him sent back. I watch as his eyes become more focused, and he backs away from me violently, causing me to misstep and fall on the floor.

"Sorry, Kitty." He says quickly as I stand up. He then looks at the clock, and then at the door. "I gotta run, catch you later." he darts out the door.

"What was that all about?" Soda asks, coming up behind me. He probably observed the whole thing.

Keeping my eyes trained on the door, I roll my eyes, and lean back against the counter. "Beats the hell out of me." I turn to face Soda. "Let's go home."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Whirlwind.

Soon after Dally left, Sodapop's shift ended, so me and him walked home. Darry came home soon after that, and made dinner. Ponyboy was at the movies with Dally and Johnny, so we weren't expecting him home until late.

"Kitty!" Soda calls from outside the bathroom door.

"What?" I yell, turning off the shower. Our house only has one bathroom, so sometimes we're forced to share.

"I need to use the bathroom?" he yells, banging on the door. I grab my towel, wrap it around myself, and open the bathroom door.

"You stand up when you pee, Soda. Why don't you just pee outside." I mutter, walking toward my room.

"I like to be a little more civilized than that, Kitty." He yells, shutting the door.

Once I'm in my room, I dry off, and put on an old pair of Soda's pajamas. They're gigantic on me, but they also are comfortable, so I wear them.

There's a knock on my door. "Come in." I say, sitting down on my bed and crossing my legs.

"Hey, Kitty." Darry says, entering my room.

"Hey, Dar." I say, ruffling the towel through my hair. He walks over, and ists down next to me.

Darry's silent for minute, and then says, "You want to talk about what happened today?"

I pull the towel from my head, and sigh. "Not really, but I'm guessing you want me too." I say.

He nods. "If you'd oblige."

I lay down fully on my bed, and stare at the ceiling. "He's just some douche-bag who thinks he's hot shit." I say, throwing my towel on the floor. "Socs think that all girls who classify as Greasers are automatically easy. Steve handled it. I don't know why everyone's all up in arms about it!"

Darry runs his hands through his hair. "They're just worried. Everyone is." He places a hand on my leg. "We all know how many Greaser's get jumped each week, and half of them are girls who've been sexaully assulted. The boys don't want to see that happen to you." He sighs. "I sure as hell don't."

"I'll be fine, Darry." I say, sitting back up. "I refuse to live my life in fear."

There's another knock. "You guys, we gonna watch TV or not?" Soda calls from outside my room.

"We should go, you know how impatient he gets." I say, getting off of my bed.

Darry sighs once again, and get's up as well. "Don't even get me started on that boy." he mutters as we walk toward the living room.

"Where the heck have you been? Do you know what time it is?" I open my eyes and look up. I must've fallen asleep while watching TV. Ponyboy is standing in the doorway, chewing on his thumbnail. He then shakes his head at Darry.

"Well, it's two in the morning, kiddo. Another hour and I would have had the police out after you. Where were you, Ponyboy?" Darry's voice start to rise. "Where in the almighty universe were you?"

Ponyboy stares at him blankly, and stammers out, "I... I went to sleep in the lot.." Soda stirs underneath me. I must have fallen asleep on his shoulder.

"You what?" Darry shouts.

"Hey Ponyboy." Sodapop says sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

"I didn't mean to." Ponyboy pleads with Darry. "I was talking to Johnny and we both dropped off…"

"I reckon it never occurred to you that your brothers might be worrying their heads off and afraid to call the police because something like that could get you two thrown in a boys' home so quick it'd make your head spin. And you were asleep in the lot? Ponyboy, what on earth is the matter with you? Can't you use your head? You haven't even got a coat on." Darry says angrily.

I watch Ponyboy start to cry, and his by his expression I knew he was getting frustrated. "I said I didn't mean too…"

"I didn't mean to." Darry shouts. Ponyboy starts to shake. "I didn't think! I forgot! That's all I hear out of you! Can't you think of anything?"

"Darry…" Both Sodapop and and I say at the same time, but Darry turns to us.

"You both keep your traps shut! I'm sick and tired of hearin' you two stick up for him."

Ponyboy's eyes go wide. "Don't you yell at them!" He shouts. And before any of us can react, Darry wheels around and slaps Ponyboy so hard it knocks him against the door.

Silance. Everyone is silent. Nobody knows what to say, what to do. Our parents never hit us. We never hit each other. Darry looks at the palm of his hand, and then looks at Ponyboy. His eyes are huge. "Ponyboy." He starts, but it's too late. Ponyboy darts out the door, and I bolt up.

"Kitty, where you going?" Soda asks me as I grab my shoes.

"After him." I say, running out the door.

"Pony, I didn't mean too!" Darry calls from the door. He's never gotten that mad before. I don't know what's gotten into him.

Ponyboy's got a good distance on me, but I run cross country at school. While Ponyboy has speed, I have distance. He keeps running until he comes across the lot, where he wakes up a disgruntled Johnny, who runs along with him. They run until they can't run anymore, and walk until finally, Ponyboy sits down on the curb. I take my time approaching him, giving him space to breathe.

"...Johnny I'm scared." Ponyboy says, taking a drag on a cigarette. Johnny must've had one to give him. However, smoking the cigarette must've calmed him down, which is a good sign. He's not as hysterical.

"Well don't be. You're scarin' me. What happened? I never seen you bawl like that." Johnny says as I approach. He sees me out of the corner of his eye, and turns to me. "Hey Kitty." He says.

Ponyboy glances at me, and then at his feet. "I don't very often. It was Darry. He hit me. I don't know what happened, but I couldn't take him hollering at me and hitting me too. I don't know... sometimes we get along okay, then all of a sudden he blows up on me or else is naggin' at me all the time. He didn't use to be like that... we used to get along okay... before Mom and Dad died. Now he just can't stand me."

"Oh Pony." I say, sitting next to him. "Darry loves you. He didn't meant to hit you, you must know that." I wrap my arm around him, and pull him down into my shoulder.

"I think I like it better when the old man's hittin' me." Johnny sighs. "At least then I know he knows who I am. I walk in that house, and nobody says anything. I walk out, and nobody says anything. I stay away all night, and nobody notices. At least you got Soda. I ain't got nobody."

"Shoot," I say, looking at Johnny, "you got the whole gang."

"Dally didn't slug you tonight 'cause you're the pet. I mean, golly, Johnny, you got the whole gang." Ponyboy chimes in, probably forgetting about being upset.

"It ain't the same as having your own folks care about you," Johnny says simply. "It just ain't the same."

Ponyboy shivers in my arm. "You really want to run away?" I ask him, as he huddles closer to me for warmth.

"I'd rather be in bed under the covers, with Soda's arm across me. I'll even go home and not talk to Darry. He can pretend that I don't exist, I don't care. He won't stop me from living in my house." He stands up, and offers me a hand. I take it, and stand up as well.

"Let's walk to the park and back. Then maybe you'll be cooled off enough to go home." I say, brushing off my ass. I'm wearing baggy pajamas, and a pair of white Keds, but I'll do anything to get my baby brother home, and safe. It's not safe to be out at this time of night."

"Okay," Johnny said easily. "Okay." Ponyboy nods in agreement. With that, we walk the two blocks to the park.

The local park is about two blocks square, has a fountain in the middle, and and a swimming pool for little kids. While the pool is empty because it's fall, the fountain is going on in full swing. It's a nice place to cool off, but the boys enjoy hanging out in the vacant lot, while other outfits prefer alley's down by the train tracks. So the park is left for lovers, and little kids.

Nobody is around at two-thirty in the morning, so it really gave Ponyboy a chance to cool off. However, it was also freezing, and while I lucked out by wearing warm flannel pajamas, Ponyboy's wearing a sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off.

Johnny snaps up his jeans jacket, and flips up his collar. "Ain't you about to freeze to death, Pony?"

"You ain't a'woofin'," He says, rubbing his bear arms while he takes drags on the cigarette he's been working on. "You know, there's this film of ice developing around the fountain right now, it's prett-" he's interrupted by a sudden blast from a car horn that makes us jump. I look up to see a blue mustang circling the park

Johnny swears under his breath, and I mutters, "What do they want? This is our territory. What are Socs doing this far east?

Johnny shakes his head. "I don't know. But I bet they're looking for us. We picked up their girls."

"Oh, glory." I say with a groan,

"This is all I need to top off a perfect night." says Ponyboy as he takes one last drag on his cigarette. He grinds the stub under his heel, and looks at both of us. "Want to run for it?"

"It's too late now," Johnny said. "Here they come."

Five Socs are coming straight at us, and from the way they were staggering I figure that they're drunk off their asses. I remember earlier with Bob and start shaking. What if he was with them? Sometimes a bluff can shake them off, but it's five to two excluding me, and all five of the Socs were drunk. Johnny's hand goes to his pocket, probably reaching for his switchblade. He's white as a ghost, and his eyes are wild, like an animal caught in a trap.

We back up against the fountain, and the Socs surround us. They smell heavily of whisky and English Leather, so much so that I almost choke. I desperately hope that Darry and Sodapop had come after me and Pony, all four of the boys could take the Socs. But no one is around, and Johnny and Ponyboy were gonna have to fight it out alone.

Johnny has a blank, tough look on his face, while Ponyboy has a more cool expression. Both are scared out of their wits, but damn be sure they won't show it.

I instantly recognized Bob, and his best friend Randy Adderson, and they recognized the boys. I look at Johnny, who's eying the rings on Bob's fingers.

A while back, Johnny was beat up real bad by some Socs. The one thing Johnny could tell us afterward was that the guy that did it wore a bunch of rings. Putting two and two together, I make a realization: Bob and his crew beat up Johnny.

"Hey, whatta ya know?" Bob says a little unsteadily, "here's the little greasers that picked up our girls. Hey, greasers." He looks a little closer at me, and his eyes light up. "Well I'll be damned, it's Kittalayn Curtis! You thinkin' bout takin me up on my offer now?"

"You're outta your territory," Johnny warns in a low voice. "You'd better watch it"

Randy swears at us and they stepps in closes. Bob is eyeing Johnny. "Nup, pal, yer the ones who'd better watch it. Next time you want a broad, pick up yer own kind- dirt."

I look at Ponyboy. I can see in his face he's getting mad. And when he get's this mad, he loses his head.

"You know what a greaser is?" Bob asked. "White trash with long hair."

The blood drains from Ponyboy's face. We've been cussed at, sworn at, but something about what Bob just said is affecting him like nothing has ever affected him before. Johnnycake makes a small gasp, and his eyes are smoldering.

"Pony don't." I say, grabbing his arm, but it's too late.

Ponyboy pulls his arm out of my hand, and says, "You know what a Soc is?" His voice is shaking with rage. "White trash with Mustangs and madras." He then spits at them.

Bob shakes his head, smiling slowly. "You could use a bath, greaser. And a good working over. And we've got all night to do it. Give the kid a bath, David." Bob then looks at me. "I'll handle the princess."

Ponyboy ducks and tries to make a run for it, but a Soc catches his arm. The next thing I know, Bob has his hand around my waist, and is pulling me closer to him.

"You rejected me once, Kitty." he says, throwing me on the ground. I try and squirm away, but another Soc grabs me, and pins me down. I lift my head to see what's happening to the boys, but the Soc slams in back down against the pavement.

"You're not getting away again." Says Bob as he lays down on top of me. My head is fuzzy from hitting it so hard against the ground, but once I realize what's happening, I try and get away. But Bob and his friend hold me down tighter.

Because I wasn't planning on leaving the house this evening, I hadn't bothered to put on a bra after I showered. Bob realizes this as soon as he touches my chest. "Looks like you were ready for me." He says, sliding his hand up my shirt.

I have never felt so violated in my entire life. I try and scream, but no sound comes out. He's gonna do whatever he wants with me, and he'll probably get away with whatever he does. And I can't do anything about it.

My head is pounding, so I lean back and try to put myself into another world, as Bob has his way with me. It's not difficult, with the way my head feels.

"Run, Ponyboy." I mutter, as I slip into a trance. I hope I don't have to feel whatever Bob has in store for me.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Runaways.

"Kitty?" I hear Johnny mumbling. Opening my eyes, I see him standing above me, peering over me.

"Did he-." I start, unable to finish.

"No." Johnny takes in a quivering breath, and then says, "I killed him." he says slowly. "I killed that boy."

I look over and see Bob lying in the moonlight. A dark pool of blood is growing from him, spreading slowly over the blue-white cement. Looking at Johnny's hand, I notice he's clutching his switchblade, and it's dark to the hilt.

"Where's Ponyboy?" I ask, sitting up. I immediately regret it, however, because my head is spinning.

"He's over there, throwing up. The Socs tried to drown him in the fountain." Johnny says, gesturing to him.

"You really killed him, huh, Johnny?" I say, watching as Ponyboy comes stalking over. I lay back down, and stare at the sky. My head hurts so bad, and I'm thinking I have a concussion.

"Yeah." His voice quavers slightly. "I had to. They were drowning Pony, and they tried to rape you!. They might have killed both of you! And they had a blade... they were gonna beat me up..."

"Like…"- Ponyboy swallows- "like they did before?"

Johnny's quiet for a minute. "Yeah," he says, "like they did before."

I run my hands through my hair, and rub my throbbing temples. "What happened after you stabbed him?" I ask, closing my eyes.

"They ran when I stabbed him. They all ran…"

"Well shit." I mutter. How did this happen? How the hell did this happen?!

"Johnny!" Ponyboy screams. "What are we gonna do? They put you in the electric chair for, killing people." I open my eyes and look at Pony, who's shaking something fierce. He's probably itchin' for a cigarette, cigarettes always calm him down. But they smoked their last pack on our walk over here. "I'm scared, Johnny. What are we gonna do?"

There's a sharp pain in my head, and I scream. Both boys rush to my aid, and Johnny pulls my legs under his arms. "Calm down Pony. Get ahold of yourself." He picks me up, and I lean against his shoulder. I'm lucky I don't weigh all that much, or this would be a whole lot harder for him to do.

Ponyboy places a hand on my shoulder. "Okay." he says. "I'm okay now." He rubs my shoulder, and feels my forehead "What's going on with Kitty?"

"Bob was trying to…" he stops, trying to figure out how to say it. "Violate her." He gets a better grip on my body. "They slammed her head on the pavement pretty hard. She might have an injury."

"Shit." Pony says, trembling a little bit. "I'm sorry Kitty. This is all my fault." He mutters.

"We gotta get outa here. Get somewhere. Run away. The police'll be here soon." I watch Pony tremble, and I know it's not all from the cold. But Johnny, except for the fact that his hands are twitching underneath me, looks as cool as Darry ever has. "We'll need money. And maybe a gun. And a plan."

"We can't take Kitty anywhere, not in this condition. She needs to see a doctor." Pony says.

Johnny thinks for a moment, and then finally says, "Dally. Dally'll get us outs here." He hold me closer. "And help Kittalayn.

Ponyboy heaves in a heavy sigh. "Where can we find him?"

"I think at Buck Merril's place. There's a party over there tonight. Dally said somethin; about it this afternoon."

Buck Merril is Dally's rodeo partner. Awhile back he got Dally a job as a jockey for the Slash J. Buck raises a few quarter horses, and makes most of his money on fixed races and a little bootlegging. Ponyboy is under strict orders from both Darry, Soda, and me not to get caught within ten miles of his place, which suits him fine. Him and I both don't like Buck Merril. He's a tall lanky cowboy with blond hair and buckteeth. Or he used to be bucktoothed before he had the front two knocked out in a fight.

"Let's go." Johnny says, as I drift off once more.

"Whatta ya want?" I'm jolted awake by a roar of cheak music, clinking of glasses, loud, rough laughter and female giggles.

"Dally!" Johnny gulps. All the loud music is making my head hurt more, and I groan. Johnny adjusts me in his arms. "We gotta see Dally."

"He's busy," Buck snaps. I hear someone in his living room yell "A-ha!" and then "Yee-ha," and the sound of it makes Pony shudder."

"Tell him it's Pony and Johnny," Ponyboy commands. If you want something out of Buck, you gotta bully him. Maybe that's why Dallas can handle him so easily, even though Buck is in his mid-twenties, and Dally's seventeen. "He'll come."

Buck glares at us for a second, and then stumbles off. My head might be spinning, but from the looks of it he's drunk off his ass. If Dally is drunk, and in a dangerous mood..

Dally stalks over to the door clad only in a low-cut pair of blue jeans, scratching the hair on his chest. From the looks of it, he's sober, which is a surprise. Maybe he hasn't been here long.

"Okay, kids, whatta ya need me for?" He looks down at me, and I shut my eyes. "And what happened to her?"

"Johnny killed the Soc that tried to rape her." Ponyboy says, a slight quiver in his voice. He's worried about me, and is trying to sound tough. "And they they almost drowned me in the fountain."

"Damn." Dally says, with a sigh. "Is she okay?"

"She hit her head real bad." Johnny says, grasping me tighter. "We need to get out, and we figured you can if anyone could. I'm worry we got you away from the party."

"Oh shoot, kid." I open my eyes and see Dally glance over his shoulder. "I was in the bedroom." His eyes move over to Ponyboy. "Glory, but your ears can get red, Ponyboy."

Ponyboy's an innocent soul at heart. He gets all embarrassed when it comes to sex, or anything like that. It's kinda adorable to see him all pure and shit.

Dally grins in amused realization. "It wasn't anything like that, kid. I was asleep, or tryin' to be, with all this racket. Hank Williams…" I drift off a little in Johnny's arms as he rambles on about Hank Williams. "Me and Shepard had a run-in and I cracked some ribs. I just needed a place to lay over." I glance at him as he rubs his side ruefully. "Ol' Tim sure can pack a punch. He won't be able to see outa one eye for a week." He looks all of us over, and sighs. "Well, wait a sec and I'll see what I can do about this mess." He looks at Ponyboy closer. "Ponyboy are you wet?"

The music seems to be getting louder, and it's creating a huge throb in my head, and I scream in pain. It hurts so badly.

"Y-y-yes-s," He stammers as his teeth chatter.

"Glory hallelujah!" He opens the screen door and pulls Ponyboy in, motioning for Johnny to follow. "You'll die of pneumonia 'fore the cops ever get you." I lean against Johnny's shoulder, and shut my eyes, trying to block out the raging music.

"Johnny hand Kitty to me." Dally says, and I feel myself being passed to a stronger set of arms, that grasp me tightly. I allow myself to lean into his broad shoulder, and rest. I'm so exhausted that I'm beyond worrying about my brother. I can't focus on anything beyond my pounding headache.

I feel myself being laid down on a bed, and I lean into the pillows. I'm lucky I'm in warm pajamas. I could just slip into sleep right now, and not worry about anything. Anyone. Ever again.

"Kitty, wake up." Dally says, shaking me gently. I open my eyes, and regret it instantly, the headache instantly taking over.

"Why?" I mutter, closing my eyes. That's when I realize who's missing from the room.

I shoot straight up. "Where's Ponyboy and Johnny?" I say, looking around for them. All of a sudden, the world goes fuzzy, and I feel myself falling.

"Easy now." Dally says, grabbing me gently, holding me steady. "Johnny told me that you hit your head really bad. I'm just waiting until the party dies down before I call your brothers and get you to the hospital." He eases me back down onto the bed. "Ponyboy and Johnny are on a train to Windrixville. They're going into hiding for a little bit." He presses something cool to my forehead, that helps me relax.

"You don't have to do this." I groan, placing my hand on his, which is currently on my forehead. "If I was any other girl you wouldn't be doing shit for me right now."

"Shush." He says, moving my hand off of his. "It doesn't matter why I'm helpin' you, just accept the help."

I close my eyes once again, and breathe deeply. "Why did you freak out earlier?"

"What do you mean?"

I sit up slowly. "At the DX. You were freakin' out about what happened to me at school, and when I tried to calm you down, you bounced out."

He shrugs, and hands me a glass of water. "Drink."

I take the glass, and do as he says. "You avoided my question." I mutter, handing him back the glass.

"Because there is no answer, Kitty. Drop it." He says, easing me back down onto his bed.

I stare up at him, and try to ignore the muffled music blaring from downstairs. "What time is it?" I ask.

"6:00 am." Dally says, standing up. "I'm gonna go see if I can get you to the doctors." He walks out of the room.

I roll onto my side, and stare at the door. I can't figure Dally out. He walks around with this hard look, and cold demeanor all the time. And now suddenly, he's taking care of me like I'm someone important to him. And nobody is important to Dallas Winston Maybe Johnny is, but that's about it.

I roll back onto my back, and stare at the ceiling. This room is as good as Dally's, although it's not officially his. He doesn't really have a home, his old man sure as hell made sure of that. He sleeps wherever there's a bed, but to Dallas, this is his home. So that makes this, his bed.

"Kitty." I glance back at the door, where Dally is standing, leaning against the frame. Now that I'm more lucid, I get a better look at him. He's still wearing the jeans he was wearing earlier, and he's still shirtless. But I don't know if I'm necessarily complaining.

"Yeah Dally." I say, shutting my eyes. The lights in the room were hurting my head even more. I hear him walk over to me, and feel the weight shift on the bed when he sits down.

"Sodapop and Darry are coming to get you. They'll be here soon." He says, patting my shoulder. "And they're gonna take you to the hospital."

I grab his hand, and stop him from patting. "Are you coming too?" I ask.

Dally pulls his hand from underneath mine, and scoots away a little. "I wasn't planning on it." I feel the weight on the bed shift. Dally probably stood up. "I didn't get much sleep tonight on account of you being in my bed."

"I'm sorry." I mutter, rolling my side, the side away from him. "I didn't ask to be brought here." I curl into a ball, hugging myself. This is the Dally I'm used too. The one who doesn't care about anything but himself. "I didn't ask for anything."

I hear Dally mutter something, and feel him sit back down. "Shit, Kitty, I'm sorry." He says, placing his hand back on my shoulder. I try to shrug it off, but he stays firm. "I know you're scared, and somethin' serious happened to you. And a lot of shit happened that wasn't your fault. I shouldn't be taking out frustration on you."

I turn back over to face him, and open my eyes. "You confuse me so much…" I mumble, as my world suddenly fades to black.

"Kitty! Kittalayn! Kitty answer me, tell me what's wro-" I don't hear him finish. I'm too far gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Extended Reality

"Is she gonna be okay, Doc?"

I feel a hand in mine before I open my eyes. The last thing I remember was being in Dally's room at Buck's, but something makes me feel like I'm not there anymore.

"Your sister most likely has a grade three concussion, and should have been brought to me as soon as it happened." An unfamiliar voice says. I groan, and open my eyes to a bright, white light, that makes my head hurt.

"Doctor, she's awake." Sodapop says from my side. His hand is tightly grasping mine, almost to the point of where it hurts.

"Hi, Kittalayn, I'm Doctor Martin Abrams. Can you answer some questions for me?" He says, from my other side. Dr. Abrams is about medium height and build, with crystal blue eyes and blonde hair. For an older guy, he's rather handsome.

I nod my head. "Okay." He takes out a clipboard, and a pen. "What is your full name?"

"Kittalayn Jane Curtis."

He writes something down on his clipboard. "Good. Where do you live?"

"Tulsa Oklahoma." I feel Sodapop squeeze my hand tighter. He's probably worried out of his mind.

"Can you give me a specific address?"

I think about it. I know where I live, but I can't remember our address. I know I know it, I've lived there for my entire life. "No, I can't"

The doctor writes some more on his clipboard. "Who is the current president?"

I think harder. "Lyndon Johnson?" I look over to Darry, who shakes his head. I'm wrong, but Johnson is the only name that's coming to mind right now.

More writing. "Can you please repeat these numbers in reverse order? Ten, twenty-four, seven, ninety-six, two?"

I shake my head. I can't even remember the last thing he said.

"Three, five, thirteen, eighty-four, thirty-eight?"

"No."

"Forty, fifty-seven, seventeen, sixty, fifteen, eleven?"

"No."

"Okay Kittalayn." Doctor Abrams says, setting the clipboard down. "Can you sit up and swing your legs over the edge of the bed?"

I realize I'm laying in bed. Soda puts his hand behind me, and helps me sit up. I do as the doctor says, and swing my legs over, but the minute I'm situated I feel lightheaded.

"Easy now." Darry says, resting his hand on my knee. Well, I think it's Darry. My vision is kinda blurry.

"Alright Kittalayn, I'm going to test your reflexes. Just sit there, and move if you feel something." The doctor says.

A few minutes pass, and nobody says anything. All of a sudden, I feel a wave of nausea, and gag. "Shit, she's gonna puke." Darry says as I let it out.

Soothing hands are on my back, as the entire contents of my stomach comes out of my mouth. "It's gonna be okay, Kitty." Sodapop says, rubbing circles on my back.

When I'm done puking, I lean back against Soda's arms, and he helps lean my back into the bed. "I'm going to order a CT for her, but I think it's pretty clear she has a grade three concussion." The doctor says. I close my eyes. All I want to do in this moment is go to sleep.

"Darryl Curtis?" I hear a deep voice say. I open my eyes to see a two police officers walking our way.

"Yeah?" Darry says, walking over to them.

"Can we talk to you?"

Darry makes a puzzled look. "What's this about, Officer?"

They start talking, but I can't make out their words. I turn to Soda. "Pony and Johnny are gone." I mutter, grasping his hand tightly. "They ran away after Johnny killed a Soc."

Sodapop stares at me in disbelief. "Johnny killed a Soc?" He says, running a hand through his hair. "Why on earth would Johnny Cade kill a Soc?" he asks me.

"It was Bob Sheldon, Sodapop." I whisper, trying not to draw attention from the others. "He tried to rape me, and his friends tried to drown Ponyboy. Beat Johnny up." I sigh, and stare directly in his eyes. "Johnny Cade saved my life."

"Excuse me, Miss?" The police officer says, walking toward me.

"Officer, this girl has suffered a traumatic injury to her head, questioning her would not be wise." the doctor says.

"It's alright." I say weakly, sitting up slightly. "I'll tell them everything they want to know."

"I've given her some medication to help with swelling and pain. It'll help, but it will also make her sleepy, so she'll rest" Doctor Abrams says to my brothers from outside my door. "I'm also going to keep her overnight, for observation. After the police questioned me, I was taken to get a scan for my head. Before that, the nurses helped me change into a hospital gown, and after I was moved to a private room.

"Thank you, Doc." Darry says, entering my room. He walks over to me, and grabs my hand. "Hey, honey." He says, kissing my forehead.

"Hi." I say, looking up at him. We're silent for a moment, before I say, "I'm sorry Dar."

"It's not your fault." He says patting my hair. "You didn't cause any of this." He sits down on the edge of the bed. "I did."

I yawn, and he clasps my hand in his. "Darry I'm sleepy." I mutter, shutting my eyes. They're growing heavy, which probably means I'm going to fall asleep.

"Just sleep, sweetheart." Darry says, kissing my forehead.

I lean my head against the pillows, and feel myself succumb to sleep. Well, at least everyone will be safe in my dreams.

"Kitty?" I open my eyes to see Dally sitting next to my bed. His hand is grasping mine, his eyes not meeting my own.

"Dallas? I mutter, sitting up slightly. "What are you doing here?"

He grasps my hand tighter. "You're hurt, and I brought you in. I wanted to make sure you were okay." He says, his gaze meeting mine. " I'm glad you're okay, Kitty."

"Why?" I ask, sleepily. "You always seem so cold toward me." I know it's the drugs talking for me, but I figure screw it. It's the truth.

"Kitty it's more complicated than that." He says, wiping sweaty bangs out of my face. I really must look a sight, hair sticking all over me, paper thin hospital gown, eyes wild from the drugs they're pumping me with.

"It shouldn't be that complicated, Dallas." I said, feeling a few tears fall from my eyes. What is with me? Why am I crying over _Dallas Winston?_ I don't understand this at all. He's been around for a majority of my life, but nothing like this has ever happened. What is he doing.

"Kitty, shit, please don't cry." he says frantic, wiping my tears away. "I can't deal with it, I can't deal with _this._ " He gets up frantically, and starts to walk away.

"Please don't go!" I yell, almost pleading. He's always walking away from me. Why does he continue to do this to me? What is going on with me?

He stops by the door, his hand clutching the frame. "Kittalayn if I don't go, I'm going to break something, and I just got out of the cooler." His grip suddenly tightens on the frame. "I can't see you like this right now, and process the emotions runnin' through my head girl, shit." He punches the wall. "I'm not gettin' messed up over some broad." He storms out.

Some broad? Is that all he thinks I am?

"Dallas!" I yell after him, but it's no use, he's gone. My head is spinning in circles, and tears are spilling out of my eyes like a waterfall. I'm screamin' and sobbing, and people are rushing into my room to see what's wrong, but I don't care. He doesn't care. He's sending me in circles and I don't even know what's going on with me. Why do I feel like this? He's a hood, I know that. Then why does it hurt so much?

"Kittalayn, honey, you need to calm down." I hear someone say in a distance, but I'm too far gone to care.

"Someone hand me that sedative!" I hear someone yell faintly, and suddenly everything starts to fade to white.

"There." Someone says far away as I drift into nothingness.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Ouch

"We had to give her a sedative earlier to calm her down."

I open my eyes slowly to the dim lighting of my room at the hospital. Both Darry and Sodapop are standing outside with the doctor, presumably talking about me.

"Doc, what happened?" Darry asks in a concerned tone. I hate to worry them both so much. I just want to go home. "She was sleeping when I left to go to work this morning, and when I got back here the nurse told me she was hysterical!"

"When you left, she had a visitor." The doctor says, attempting to keep his voice low. "He left in a rush, and that's when she started screaming."

"Darry." I push out, trying to pull myself out of the grogginess of sleep.

"Kitty?" He says, looking my way. Once he realizes I'm awake, he makes his way over to me, and sits on my bed, a concerned look on his face.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" He asks me, brushing my still sweaty bangs from my eyes.

"Sleepy." I answer honestly, closing my eyes. My body feels exhausted, and all I want to do is drift off once again.

"How is she?" Sodapop asks, presumably making his way over to us.

"Tired." Darry answers for me.

"Soda?" I say softly, hoping he can hear me.

"What is it, Kitty?" He asks, leaning in so close I can feel him.

"I miss mom." I mumble, a few tears falling from my eyes. And I do. I really do. If she was here she could help me understand my feeling about Dally, maybe help me understand Dally's feelings. She and Dallas were always close. She had this way of getting him to open up about all of his feelings. He's been so closed up since they died in a train accident last year.

"I know you do, Kitty." He says, wiping my tears away. "I know."

I roll over onto my side, and pull my knees up to my chest the best that I can, trying not to pull the I.V. out of my arm.

"Soda, the doctor wants to come and check her out." Darry says.

Soda gently grabs places his hand on my shoulder, and eases me out of my ball. "Come on, Kittalayn, it's not good for you to be curled up like this." Soda says as he helps me straighten up. He goes to join Darry by the door, but I grab his hand and hold tightly.

"Please don't go." I say, clutching tighter. Soda smiles sadly, and sits on the edge of my bed, my hand clasped tightly in his.

"I'm not going anywhere, Kitty."

"Well, it is going to take a while for her brain to heal completely, but she should be fine to go home." The doctor says as he finishes my exam. "If she experiences any severe headaches, bring her back in. While she's at home she needs to rest, and try not to stimulate her brain or hit her head, for it may further the swelling in her brain." Dr. Abrams looks me over once more and makes his way to the door. "Darryl, why don't you come with me so I you can fill out the discharge paperwork?" He says as he walks out. Darry follows suit, and closes the door behind him.

"I brought you some clothes from home, so you can change before we leave. Your pajamas were cut off of you so I figured I'd bring some." Soda places a bag on the bed. "I'll go see if Darry needs any help with the paperwork." He says, leaving me to change.

It feels so incredibly good to change out of the paper thin hospital gown they put me in. Sodapop has brought me a light blue cotton dress that buttons all the way down. I don't usually wear dresses, but I'm glad he brought one. I don't think I could do pants right now.

"Kitty, are you ready?" Darry asks through the door.

"Yeah." I say, sitting down on the bed. My white keds shoes sit in front of me. I'm having trouble putting them and socks on for some reason.

I hear the door open, signaling that Darry must be walking in. "Kitty, you okay? He asks me, sitting next to me.

"I, I can't figure out my shoes." I mutter, looking up at him.

He smiles at me, but I can detect a sad look behind it. "That's okay." He says, dropping to the floor. He grabs my socks, and slips them on my feet. "I'll just help you out." He says, slipping both my shoes on my feet. "There you go." He stands up, and offers me a hand. "Come on, let's go."

"Well there she is!"

When I arrive home the first thing I hear is Two-Bit's obnoxiously loud voice.

"Two-Bit, quiet voices please." I mumble, rubbing my temples. "I have a headache." I make my way to the couch and sit down, leaning my head against Steve, who is already sitting.

"How you feeling, Kitty?" Steve asks me, wrapping an arm around me.

"Like shit." I mumble, leaning into him further.

"Steve, do you mind keeping an eye on her while we head to work?" Sodapop says as he shrugs on his DX shirt. "The Doc said she should rest, and to not stimulate her brain. She has a concussion, so all she should be doing is relaxing."

Steve holds me closer, and I shut my eyes. "I got her, I promise. I won't let nothing happen to her." He says as I drift off.

"Kitty, wake up."

I open my eyes. Did I fall asleep again? I seem to be falling asleep so easily after the incident.

"Hello, Kittalayn?" Two-Bit says, standing over me. Steve must have laid me down on the couch, because he is nowhere in sight.

"Where is Steve?" I ask, sitting up. I instantly regret it, however, because it instantly makes my head feel woozy

"Easy, Kitty," Two-Bit says, wrapping an arm tightly around me. "Evie came by and started going off on ol' Steve about him spending too much time here, or somethin'" He leans me against the couch. "So he went off with 'her so she'd stop being so loud."

"Oh." I mutter, rubbing my temples. My head is still throbbing.

"Yep!" Two-Bit says, a wild grin on his face. "So now I'm here babysitting."

I smack him upside the head. He yelps, and scoots away.

"What was that for?" He asks, rubbing his head.

"I'm not a baby." I say, resting my head back. "Therefor, I do not need a babysitter."

"Damn, Kitty, you're mean when you're sick." He says, getting up from the couch. "You need anything?"

I slowly stand up from the couch, and get my bearings. "I think I wanna go sleep in my bed." I say, starting off in that direction. The world is a little fuzzy, and I'm hella disoriented, but I think I'll make it.

Once I make it to my room, I throw myself onto my bed face down. All I want to do is hide in my bed forever.

"Kittalayn, you make it okay?" Two-Bit calls from the door. I give him a thumbs up, and let out a groan. I'm done for the day

"Okay, I'll leave you be. If you need anything, holler, okay?" With that, he leaves me to his own devices. And I'm glad. It's been a hell of a couple of days, and I think I just need to relax.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Dally's Confession

A/N: Okay, okay. Before ANYONE gets on me about how OOC Dally is in this chapter, please read this. This is my take on Dallas Winston. Personally, after reading this book so many times. I believe that Dally's "tough guy" attitude is more a front he puts on so people give him respect. I mean, how was he able to keep Sylvia for that time? He had to be some sort of sweet, right? Or charming. IDK, but to me I always thought he would be a little softer around those he cared about, so in this story that includes Kittalayn. Him caring about her is one of the BIGGEST changes I've made to this story, and is vital to the plot. In any case, please be nice when it comes to reviews. Like i said, this is MY take on Dally, and how I think he would react. Okay, that's it from me.

It's been a week since Ponyboy and Johnny left, and everyone's a wreck. Darry is angrier, beating himself up for what happened to us, and Sodapop won't leave my side. Ever. I breathe and he jumps.

How could all of this happen? How did we end up here?

"Kitty, you awake?" I hear Sodapop say from outside my door. I've been awake for a long while, but I hadn't bothered to get out of bed. I can't do much of anything with my concussion, so I just lay around. I'm going to be so behind in homework.

"I'm awake Soda." I say, sitting up. The headaches have lessened significantly this past week, but I still feel a little bit woozy every time I sit or stand up too abruptly, but I have been functioning more normally.

"Hey, honey, how you feeling?" He asks, entering my room.

"Better, just bored." I say, standing up. I've been living in Sodapop's old pajamas this entire week, since I haven't had the energy to do anything.

"That's good." He says, leaning against the doorway. "I have the day off so if you need anything I'll be out in the living room, okay?"

"Okay Soda." I say, yawning. These days I've been doing a lot of sleeping, I'm probably going to end up going back to sleep.

"Also, you have a follow-up doctor appointment later today." He says, walking over to the bed. Sitting down, he takes my hand in his. "Darry is only working a half day so that he can take you."

"He shouldn't do that." I say, shaking my head. I don't like being fussed over like this.

"Hey, Sodapop, you here?!" I hear Steve call from the living room.

"Yeah, Steve, give me a minute." Sodapop hollers after him. "I'm gonna go, you know where to find me." He gets up and leaves

"I thought he'd never leave."

I jolt at the voice. Dallas is standing outside my window, leaning on the open frame.

I haven't spoken to Dally since the incident in the hospital room a week ago. He's come by a few times to speak to my brothers, but other than that? Nothing. No explanation for it.

"What are you doing here Dally?" I say, turning away from him. I can't look at him. If I look at him I'm going to start crying.

"I needed to talk to you." He says.

"You needed to talk to me?!" I yell, turning around. He's now sitting on the window frame, arms across his chest, looking as rugged and sexy as-

No, I'm not going there. I'm angry at him, and I cannot stay angry at him unless I don't think he's attractive. It's so difficult. I just can't.

"Well, yeah. I said that." He says, chuckling. He swings his legs over the frame so now he is completely in my room. "Are you going to let me?"

I shift on my feet. Am I going to let him?

"You have five minutes before I call Sodapop in here, Dallas." I say, sitting on my bed. He just looks at me for a minute, and then I gesture for him to go on.

He stands up, and makes his way over to me. "I didn't want to hurt you, Kitty." He says, grabbing my hands. I go to pull them away but he holds them firmly. "No, don't pull away from me. Please."

I'm stunned. Who is this person in my room right now? Because the way he's acting right now? This isn't Dallas Winston.

"Dallas what are you doing?" I ask him, looking up into his eyes.

He grips my hands tighter. "Just listen to me, Kitty." He gazes into my eyes. What is this side of Dallas? I've never seen him like this, so nice, so, well, caring. Is this how he was with Sylvia? Why she stayed so long with him?

"I've been messed up this past week." He starts, kneeling down. "I didn't know why at first, but I was just angry, all the time. I thought it was just pent up aggression from bein' in jail, but no matter how many Socs I beat up, beers I drank, or how many times I let Ol' Tim wail on me made me feel any kind better."

"Dally, you're always angry." I say, squeezing his hands tighter. "It's not just this week."

He shakes his head. "It's not like that, Kitty. Being angry at the world for my shit life is something I deal with everyday, but this anger is different."

I feel my gaze fall to the floor. I'm so seriously confused. This is so out of character for Dally. Where is that tough hood I had known all these years?

Dally let's go of my hand, and raises my head to meet his gaze once more. "Kitty, seeing you hurt, that's why I've been so messed up. Don't you get it?" He stands up, pulling me up to join him.

"You've always been angry, Dally." I say, a deep concern in my voice. I feel so weird at this moment. I don't know what's going on with him.

"Kitty, you're not listening to me." He says, grasping my hands tighter. "I care about you, Kittalayn." He let's go of my hands, and walks away from me.

I fall back down on my bed, stunned. This is not how I thought today was going to go. Those aren't the words I thought I was going to hear Dallas Winston say.

"Dallas, I-" I don't even know what to say. How to say. What do I say to that?

"Dammit, Kitty." He says, punching the wall, making the whole room shake, as well as making me jump.

He rushes back to my and grabs my hands once more. "Hey now, it's alright." He says, a slight smile on his face. "The last thing I'll ever do is hurt you."

"Kitty, is everything alright in there?" Soda says from outside the door.

"Yeah, I just slipped, I'm alright." I yell back, trying to get him to leave. Although Dallas is a friend to my brothers, him sneaking into my room like that? Not a good situation for any party.

"Alright then." Sodapop says, and then I hear him stalk off. Good. Don't need him walking in on this conversation.

I pull my legs up and tuck them beneath me, and sigh. This is all so overwhelming.

"Kitty?" Dallas says, running his thumb over my hand. My eyes are trained on our hands intertwined with each-other's. It's all so much. I don't know what to say to him, or what to do. It doesn't help that my brain has been foggy for the past week.

Dally raises his hand, and lifts my chin so our eyes meet. "What are you thinking about?"

"This. Us. Everything." I say. "It's all so overwhelming."

Dallas rests his hand against my cheek, and I lean into it, taking in a deep breath. His touch is comforting, and I'm grateful for it.

What am I saying? Talking about his "comforting touch"? What the hell? What is he doing to me?

"What are you doing Dally?" I say, moving his hand from my face.

"Whattya mean?"

"This isn't you!" I say, standing up abruptly. "For the entire time I've known you, you've been hard, uncaring. You ain't never given a damn about anything!" I walk away from him. "You ain't never gave a damn about me."

"Kitty, that's not it, fuck." He mumbles, and I swear I can hear him running his hands through his hair. I hear him walk toward me, and then place a hand on my shoulder. "I had to learn early on that the more you care about something, the more it can hurt you."

"And?"

"So, I chose not to care. It made things easier, not caring. I didn't have to worry about anything." I slip my hand up to touch his. I can't help it, I want to be connected to him in this moment.

"So what? You're just turning on your feelings now?" I say more harshly then I intend to.

Dallas flips me around, and cups my face. "Kitty, they've always been on."

And then his lips are on mine, and he's kissing me. He's kissing me, and it feels so good. His hands find their way into my hair, his fingers caressing me in a way I've never felt before. How can just a kiss feel this good.

And then he pulls away, both of us gasping for air.

"I need to get going." He says, gently rubbing this thumb on my cheek. "I'm gonna go check on your brother and Johnny."

"Dally…" I start, but I'm unable to actually say anything coherent.

He places a finger on my lips. "Don't say anything, Kittalayn, please." He says, wrapping his arms around me. "Just know that my feelings are on." He pulls me close. "And I have them for you."


End file.
